During the Republican President George W. Bush Administration, Americans were led into war against Iraq. During Democratic President Barack H. Obama’s time in the White House, the United States was led into war against Libya. In both cases, a plausible cover story was created by political leaders. Friendly or duped mainstream media produced reports favorable toward each of those administrations’ respective case for leading our nation into war.

Iraq and Libya both had ‘strong man’ governments. Once Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi (Qaddafi) was deposed/killed, Libya descended into chaos.  When Saddam Hussein was toppled/died, Iraq similarly has become a hotbed of unrest, violence, destruction, and death. Warring factions broke out in both of those Middle Eastern nations.

Two different presidents from two different political parties. Yet there is good evidence that each used deception to mislead the U.S. into a war that tens of millions Americans would have voted against given the choice. How did this grand deception happen?

In brief, these are two well-known modern examples of “The Big Lie.” They are clear and recent examples of grand deceptions. They are not outliers. It has happened several times in America on a range of issues. This happens and has previously occurred in countries around the world. Among the domestic issues that the Big Lie has arguably been deployed include our profession. But it has happened in other industries and professions too. Compared to the big picture of how the Big Lie has been deployed in our profession, as serious as it is, it is relatively speaking small potatoes compared to going to war. But these troubling examples illustrate how tens of millions can be misled, swindled, and harmed by a range of mass illusions and other manipulative ploys.

 

 

The movie Fair Game is a star packed drama of intrigue that chronicles in a ‘based on a true story’ fashion how the U.S. was led into the war with Iraq. When Fair Game is watched after viewing the docudrama Shadows or Liberty, the story of Fair Game comes into sharper focus. Both videos can be streamed on line. They should be viewed with a discerning eye, as they illustrate how the game of deception and betrayal are played.

 

 

But other videos or reports could be used to similarly illustrate the process used by the Obama Administration to make war against Gaddafi’s Libya. Those who watch or read only left-of-center news sources are more likely to hear about the Bush Administration and its role in the Iraqi tragedy. Those who follow more right-of-center news are more likely to hear about the lies and deception that has made Libya a hotbed for ISIS and other radical groups today, or the Big Lie told to get ObamaCare passed. That later lie was admitted to on camera by one of the chief architects of the so-called Affordable Care Act (ACA a.k.a. ObamaCare). Jonathan Gruber admitted the deception with pride after the legislation passed. Note to those on the right, this left-of-center video by CNN featuring Jake Tapper does a fine job of weaving together the facts and video clips in a way that makes it clear that ObamaCare was based on several lies. Not all news is fake news.

 

 

The Big Lie methodology has been used off and on for well over a century in America. Democratic President Woodrow Wilson maneuvered the U.S. into war against Germany on the side of the British, French and their allies in World War I. It is worth mention that Wilson, per historical sources, was a true racist. As left-of-center Vox begins to frame it, “in the Associated Press’s words, “it is important to weigh Wilson’s racism, and how bad it was, with the contributions he made to the nation.” Vox noted that “Easily the worst part of Wilson’s record as president was his overseeing of the resegregation of multiple agencies of the federal government, which had been surprisingly integrated as a result of Reconstruction decades earlier.” What Republican President Abraham Lincoln led a war to undo, Democratic President Woodrow Wilson began to re-do. “Upon taking office, Wilson himself fired 15 out of 17 black supervisors in the federal service and replaced them with white people. Facts are what they are,” said Vox. The Wilson Administration’s “head of the Internal Revenue division in Georgia fired all his black employees, saying, “There are no government positions for Negroes in the South. A Negro’s place in the corn field.” To enable hiring discrimination going forward, in 1914 the federal government began requiring photographs on job applications.”

With race a hot topic in the wake of the George Floyd protests and riots, why is there such a disparity between blacks and whites in America?

There is more to know, as will be shown further below, but certainly a look at the Wilson Administration is one place someone could begin. Before someone thinks that this is partisan, never forget that it was the Republican President Richard M. Nixon that opened the doors to untold hundreds of billions flowing from the United States to build up once impoverished Communist China. There is harm and blood on the hands of leaders on both side of the major party aisle. Let’s hasten to stress that what follows doesn’t mean that every Democrat is a racist, or that every Republican favors trade with communist nations. Each person should be discerned based on their own track record. The principle that applies to keep facts straight is using the ancient and proven notion of separating what is true – proverbial wheat – from the false or spin laden chaff.

But that’s historic outline is sufficient to better understand the Big Lie. Next, see what Wikipedia has to say about this propaganda technique. Pay close attention. Because a study at Villanova University mentioned below points out that even what you think you know can be obscured by this manipulative method know for almost a century as The Big Lie.

 

The Big Lie

The “big lie is a propaganda technique and logical fallacy. The expression was coined by Adolf Hitler, when he dictated his 1925 book Mein Kampf, about the use of a lie so “colossal” that no one would believe that someone “could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously,” says Wikipedia.

“The illusory truth effect (also known as the illusion of truth effect, validity effect, truth effect, or the reiteration effect) is the tendency to believe false information to be correct after repeated exposure. This phenomenon was first identified in a 1977 study at Villanova University and Temple University.” Source, the “Illusory truth effect” – Wikipedia.

That same Wikipedia article said that “At first, the truth effect was believed to occur only when individuals are highly uncertain about a given statement.^[1]  Psychologists also assumed that “outlandish” headlines wouldn’t produce this effect however, recent research shows the illusory truth effect is indeed at play with false news.^[5] This assumption was challenged by the results of a 2015 study by Lisa K. Fazio, Nadia M. Brasier, B. Keith Payne, and Elizabeth J. Marsh. Published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology; the study suggested that the truth effect can influence participants who actually knew the correct answer to begin with, but who were swayed to believe otherwise through the repetition of a falsehood.”

Rephrased, by repeating a falsehood over and over again, ignorant and informed people alike can be persuaded to question what they know or even believe. That’s the big lie in principle.

This is highly relevant to affordable housing in general and manufactured homes specifically. But this as the outline above illustrates, it also been used in our nation or others generally for generations. It is relevant in the issue of “fake news” but also points to the method that Adolf Hitler and his propaganda minster Joseph Goebbels developed called “The Big Lie.”

When something has been done before, that means it can be done again. Applying the principle of separating the wheat from the chaff applies to everyone from any organization or group. Your rival may say something quite true. Sift out the true from what may be applied in a problematic fashion by some.

 

 

Racism and the Big Lie

Truth comes in fits and spurts from sources across the left-right divide. If someone only sources their insights from one side of the political divide, that person is more likely to be snared by deception. Who says? Psychologist Chrysalis Wright, Ph.D., quoted below.

 

 

But sadly, the Iraqi war is an example that both left and right leaning media could be misled at the same time. Some common sense combined with general understanding are necessary to detect the possibility of the Big Lie at work.

 

Tucker Carlson makes the point in the video below that violence against minorities are far more common ‘Black on Black,’ than white on black. He also notes that more whites are killed by cops than blacks, although the percentage of unarmed blacks who died at the hands of cops using excessive force is higher. The source for right-of-center Fox News? Data complied by the left-of-center Washington Post.

 

 

Carlson’s video uses sarcasm and some whit, but is generally correct on the underlying facts.

Going back to President Wilson and racism, Professor Carol Swain, a black historian says she was a Democrat that turned Republican. Why? In part, history. Swain has taught political science at Vanderbilt University.

 

In more detail is this video by the controversial Professor Swain and right-of-center Prager University.

 

 

That video above has had 7.5 million views. But some of the facts it highlights were reported months or years before by various MHProNews reports. Like any other source, we are not perfect. But we strive to get the facts accurately, clearly identify the source, and lay out the logic. Using history and other disciplines, MHProNews is routinely are highly accurate as a result. When we screw up, we call ourselves out and make the correction.  That process has given us the runaway largest audience in our industry. It has also attracted nonprofits, public officials, investors, and others who are researching our industry.  Accurately quoting and citing facts is what our industry and all other professions need.

 

What Are the Lessons?

Opportunities are grabbed by proponents of various groups – often with a political or economic agenda – during times of crisis. While it was leftist Saul Alinsky who taught the lessons that caused Rahm Emanuel to say “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.” That’s according to GoodReads.

 

See the related reports above, below as well as following the byline and notices to learn more.

 

 

Summing up, America – despite these troubling facts – is a nation that has legal mechanisms to correct what is wrong. But there are numerous instances where a person or group plays fast and loose with the truth. They may blame their opponents for what they themselves are guilty of doing. The MHProNews graphic below is a useful tool for spotting verbal and written efforts to manipulate others.

 

 

We are 5 months from a general election as this is being written. Watch for follow ups that will build on this report.

 

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P.S. To learn more about the topic above, see the related reports below. That’s a wrap on window into “News through the lens of manufactured homes and factory-built housing” © where – “We Provide, You Decide.” © ## See Related Reports, further below. Note that text/image boxes often are hot-linked to other reports that can be access by clicking on them. Any third-party images and content are provided under fair use guidelines.)

By L.A. “Tony” Kovach – for MHProNews.com.

Tony earned a journalism scholarship and was recognized with the prestigious Lottinville Award in history from the University of Oklahoma, where he also studied business management with a perfect 4.0 and made the Dean’s List. Tony has earned multiple awards in manufactured housing and in history. He’s a managing member of LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC, the parent company to MHProNews, and MHLivingNews.com.

Office 863-213-4090 |Connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach

 

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